SPOILER "Bloodline" by Claudia Gray (Discussion)

also, for all the people who ever complained that Leia was too much of an ice princess, she has got definite touches of post-traumatic stress going on in this book.

 

LULZ at the the story group making things up on the fly.

They aren't being unclear for secrecy, it is painfully obvious that they are literally changing things all the time.

The timelines don't jive because this entire thing has been a rush job.

So Ben was a 26 (or older?) year old "boy" when he found out about grandad and fell under Snoke's influence which Leia knew about but not only hid it from Han but herself?? Did she forget? Haha



Even pablo is having a tough time walking stuff back. Did you guys see the tweet a few weeks ago where he left it open that "Rey was a little girl in the vision of her being left on jakku, but we know visions can be wrong" or something? Haha

Some of you guys want these stories to be great sooo bad you have convinced yourself that everything is great and there is some master plan being laid out.

TFA was a rushed soft reboot and now they are scrambling to get all the pieces to fit.

I also love how they keep introducing side characters that you guys think will end up being important.

They don't include major characters because they don't know what the eff the story is. They need to leave it open. But they need books and cartoons etc out to make $$

 

Well Rey is literally shown to us as a girl in the flashback on Jakku and Ben was born shortly after ROTJ and is a tad younger than Poe which is why it makes him so old but in TFA even Leia says that Snoke was "always" trying to take Ben away and they couldn't have stopped it if they tried .

 

They never say his age in the book, but since it's 6 years before, he would be around 23.

 

four chapters later:

i've got screen caps to share when all is said and done, but for the record (and in the heat of the moment), wth with all these maddening vague references to stuff? so hilariously frustrating since obviously gray can't elaborate, but jeez, may as well not have said anything at all seeing as it's so distracting.

also, Leia's nostalgia about the Galactic War is starting to get a bit...weird.
i mean: duty duty duty , sure, but did she never feel a duty for anything but politics?

--- Double Post Merged, May 4, 2016, Original Post Date: May 4, 2016 ---

onward (this report brought to you from about midway through the book):

Leia tacitly approves of the death penalty? or at least doesn't object when Ransolm compliments her on her being the Huttslayer in that context. yowch.
she also appreciates "the view" when regarding this man who is only 6 years older than Ben. creep-o-rama much?
methinks this is Gray projecting her own hots for Tom Hiddleston here, and it's kinda yick.

also, i'm sorry, but Gray has made Leia a lousy mother. there's just no two ways about it.

and apparently Ben's FS is a family secret too?

wee cameos from Snap and Kalonia were fun ~ interesting to see who turns up and when.

i can't decide what's worse: the cabooties or the butter-sweet puffs.

 

I don't like this criticism. I'm failing how to see how a grown woman admiring a grown man is creepy. I don't own this book yet so I don't really know the exact context just what you've said. I'm also bothered by how you see Gray as "projecting". It would seem to me she knows how to write a realistic woman. Go figure.

Anyway, I guess I'm going to have to consider getting an online version of this book. I want it to read it. Badly.

I hope you start enjoying it more.

 

why are you assuming criticism? i'm having fun reading the book and i think it's hilarious that Gray has the hots for Hiddles.
she picked him for the character, so she must like him at least as an actor. maybe i should have added a "hahaha" after that line?
and i don't know what your statement about "realistic woman" is implying. that i wouldn't know what one looks like? hahaha <~ me, still enjoying the book.
so...yeah, maybe a little context is in order?

 

"creep-o-rama much" sounds like a criticism. Not a "hahaha". What it sounds like is that you are saying Leia is really creepy. Like, how else would we interpret that?

EDIT

Honestly though it seems like you intended differently, so just a misunderstanding. No biggie. Enjoy your evening.

 

oh fer heaven's piddies: it's funny.
i apologize if my choice of words offends you.

if it needs to be stated, i don't think Leia is creepy.
i'm pretty sure she could take a ribbing for giving Hiddles a little side-eye.

 

I was shocked that she has nothing of Ben's in her apartment. Didn't he ever make her macaroni art or anything that she kept? No holograms or pictures or whatever? (I would have cried if I wasn't afraid it would slow my reading down. )

That didn't faze me. She's not dead yet.

Yay, Snap!

Leia is so amazing and strong as a politician, and as a survivor, and as a mentor. But a nurturer she is not. I know her son is a grownup now. I know she thinks he's safe with Luke. But, man....I can see how he would have felt abandoned.

But where would the GFFA be without her?

--- Double Post Merged, May 4, 2016, Original Post Date: May 4, 2016 ---

I think your estimate is too high...what are you basing 26 on?

 

the description of the apartment was weird to me too. though the thing about Han's socks was funny.

no she's not! she's my age and i've admired Hiddles myself ~ hahaha.

that one scene where she's comforting Korrie and Greer really bothered me. just the way Gray phrased it with regard to Ben. i screen-capped it, will post in a bit.

up crick with no paddles. hahaha

poor Leia man, this is rough.

 

Now we know what all the fights were about.

--- Double Post Merged, May 4, 2016, Original Post Date: May 4, 2016 ---

I read all the HP books like a crazy person, but I never took off work for them. Now that's love.

 

update, home stretch: eyes are getting tired.

why does this book give me the impression that there's something seriously wrong with Ben?
like he's slow in the head or has a third eye or something?
i'll try to explain what i mean once i get my screen shots in order, but the way Gray has to dance around his existence makes him such a weird shame shadow in the corner. i think it has to do with the jinky way they rejiggered his age perhaps. something feels really off.

loved the scene of Ransolm's hat party where he's sussing out the Imperial wanna-be people. that was really great.

Lady Carise seemed a bit obvious from the start, but i like the way it all unravels.

we totally got cheated on the holo message? wth??? seriously
~ and i don't understand how she can grieve at Bail's secrets when she's done the same dang thing to her child. c'mon, Leia. wow.

 

He was born like a year or so after ROTJ and 'Awakens is roughly a tad over 31 years after that .

 

Reflecting a bit: I'm not sure I really understand Ransolm's reasoning for collecting the Imperial stuff. Not sure I'm buying it. Also, I thought he was going to get set up/accused with those artifacts, combined with his friendship with Leia, Vader's daughter...turns out he did get set up, but with far more sophistication. Really liked the character otherwise though.

Cheered out loud for the Han rescue scene.

Right, Kylo Ren is 29-30 during TFA, but why do you think the novel is only three years before TFA?

 

so, i had to take a dinner break, but i finally wrapped this up.

i'm frankly a little stunned at how everything turned out.

• yay for Han Solo (i cheered too, @Choose Light!)
• holy cow Tai (didn't see that coming)
• and whatthehellohmyGod Ransolm! are you kriffin' kidding me?

i swear, Leia's gotta get justice in this ST; this is insane. i'm just not okay with that ending.
because you know the hits are just going to keep coming for Leia. relentlessly.

this was very disturbing on so many levels.
so...i guess it was really good. but in the worst imaginable way.

: o p

--- Double Post Merged, May 4, 2016, Original Post Date: May 4, 2016 ---

there are so many sad ironies throughout this. every time she thought about Luke and how Luke talked about Vader, i just cringed knowing her suffering-to-come, and thinking of that look in her eyes in TFA when she's trying so hard to convince Han "there's still Light in him, i know it." ughhhhh.....

 

Did I say 3 years? That must have been a typo. This is 6 years before.

 

Just finished! Great book. @LadyMusashi I agree with all of your points, especially about (the inevitable) question of whether or not Bloodline is better than Lost Stars. This book made me care for Leia in a way I don't think I ever have, and I'm excited to see where she goes in Episode VIII. Claudia Gray needs to keep writing Star Wars until she runs out of stories to tell. The way she makes you understand characters is phenomenal. More Luke and Ben would have been great, but even just knowing that Ben's turn wasn't as far back as we thought is informative (and means we need to do start crafting a LOT of new theories!)